President
International Bateson Institute

Nora Bateson, President of the International Bateson Institute, is the creator of “Warm Data” theory and practices, an approach to information science that studies the “interrelationships that integrate elements of a whole system.” Shewrote, directed and produced the award-winning documentary, An Ecology of Mind, a portrait of her late father, the immensely influential, revered and renowned thinker, Gregory Bateson. A recipient of the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity (in 2019), Nora Bateson is also the author of a new book, Combining.

Activist, Writer and Strategist

Linda Burnham has been an activist, writer and strategist focused on women’s rights and racial justice since the 1960s. She is a co-editor and contributor to the 2022 book Power Concedes Nothing: How Grassroots Organizing Wins Elections and is the author of Project2050, an inquiry into long-term strategic thinking on the left. She recently worked with a team to produce the online curriculum, Fascism101.

Author & Journalist
Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge

Erica Gies is an independent journalist, National Geographic Explorer, and the author of Water Always Wins: Thriving in an age of drought and deluge, published in the U.S., U.K., and China. She covers water, climate change, plants and wildlife for Scientific American, The New York Times, bioGraphic, Nature, and other publications. The honors she has received include the Sierra Club’s Rachel Carson Award, Friends of the River’s California River Award, the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation’s Excellence in Journalism Award, and the Harvey Southam Lectureship at the University of Victoria.

Wildlife Ecologist and Conservation Biologist
University of California at Santa Barbara + Host of Wild Kingdom

Rae Wynn-Grant, Ph.D., a wildlife ecologist and conservation biologist who researches how human activity influences carnivore behavior and ecology and is passionate about science communication, is the creator of the award-winning podcast "Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant" (produced by PBS’ Nature) and has recently become the co-host of the just resuscitated revered TV show, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Currently a Research Faculty member at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, she maintains a Research Fellow position with the National Geographic Society in partnership with the American Prairie Reserve and a Visiting Scientist position at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Grant, who also serves on the Board of Directors for NatureBridge, is a leading advocate for women and people of color in the sciences and is the author of many scientific papers, as well as her upcoming memoir, Wild Life.